How to install Windows 8 to dual boot with Windows 7 [guide]

Some of you may have noticed loads of Windows 8 posts coming up, but I cant help. I am still playing with it on my Laptop along with Windows 7 but I rarely boot into Windows 7 these days as I am still exploring Windows 8 capabilties and Features. Today we will talk about how to install Windows 8 Developer Preview as dual boot, along with Windows 7 or any other Windows operating system. Even though this method is too easy, most people are staying away from it due to the fear of something getting messed up.

Download Windows 8 Developer Preview ISO

You need to download the Windows 8 Developer Preview ISO image file depending on whether you want to install 32 bit or 64 bit operating system. We have talked about download details and Direct download links in our previous post.

Create a Free Hard disk Partition (>20 GB)

You need to create a partition on your system Hard disk having a capacity greater than 20 GB. If you already have a free partition available on your hard disk then you can skip this. Keep in mind that this partition must have no data as it will be erased and formatted during Windows 8 install. You can create the new partition by going into Disk Management and using “Shrink the partition” option. If ample space is available on your hard disk, shrinking partition will reduce the size of your existing partition to as much as possible and rest of the space can be used for creating a new partition. Just right click on the space freed and create a new partition for your use.

Boot system with DVD/ USB Drive and install Windows 8

After this, just use your Windows 8 DVD or USB drive to boot your system. When you reach the Windows 8 install screen, select the “custom” option. There you will see the hard disk partitions available on your Hard disk. Just choose the partition that you just created in last step to install Windows 8. JUst select the partition and click next. Thats all.

Windows 8 will now start installing on your system. In approximately 15-20 minutes, whole installation process will be over. After the install is over, you can see the new boot manager of Windows 8 upon system start or reboot so that you can choose if you want to boot into Windows 7 or Windows 8 .